Message development, social media strategies, and speaker/media training for individuals and groups, so you don't get caught unprepared, speechless or without a message. I'm Washington, DC-based communications consultant Denise Graveline. Want to pick my brain or get a sense of how I work? Do it here.

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Many organizations and companies tell me they're avoiding social media because their mission or product isn't broad enough. "We occupy a particular niche" is often how they put it, suggesting that their highly specialized work lacks wide appeal and has too many tripwires and limitations to let them play in the social sandbox.

My usual answer to these objections is "So what?" Far from needing to be Facebook-with-a-billion users, it's the niche players who are living in the future of social media and communications.

Seth Godin touched on this in a recent interview that adds perspective for those of you working to communicate a niche business, committee, pursuit, product or tool, and it isn't about becoming "a household word:"

...what this age we're living in is doing, is it's dividing the mass market, which is basically dead now, into hundreds or thousands of micro-markets — little markets of interest. So you can't make a substantial impact on everyone anymore. It's almost impossible....But what you can do is go to the edges, and go to the few people who care deeply and make a big impact there.

I love that: Go to the edges. We're always talking about angles, but that's what an edge forces you into, so embrace it. Social media platforms can be anything you want them to be, broad or narrow. Their easy availability has meant that many niche businesses and organizations are engaging their existing followers and broadening their base...but only where it makes sense. What's your edge? What's your angle: Consider: